§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many low birthweight babies there were by region 367W by (a) percentage of population and (b) total number, in descending order in the year when figures were last available [30604]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Chris Ruane, dated 30 January 2002:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many low birthweight babies there were by region by (a) percentage of population and (b) total number, in descending order, in the most recent year for which figures are available. (30604)The figures requested are given in the table below.
Low birthweight babies1by Government Office Region, England 2, 20003 Government Office Region Number of low birthweight babies Percentage of all live births West Midlands 5,156 8.4 London 8,506 8.2 Yorkshire and The Humber 4,505 8.1 North West 6,020 7.9 East Midlands 3,568 7.8 North East 2,053 7.8 East 4,153 6.8 South East 6,090 6.7 South West 3,301 6.6 1Population at risk is taken to be the total number of live births with a stated birthweight, and is used to calculate the percentage of low birthweight babies (ie under 2,500 grams). 2Residents only. 3Data are for occurrences of births per calendar year. Source:
Office for National Statistics.